Barbie has achieved a significant milestone as the largest film ever helmed by a female director, shattering the $1 billion revenue threshold.
Since its recent premiere just over two weeks ago, the movie’s global box office performance has propelled it to eclipse the previous record held by Patty Jenkins, who directed Wonder Woman.
Produced by Warner Bros, this enchanting comedy-fantasy has raked in a staggering $459 million from theaters across the United States and Canada, and an additional $572.1 million from international markets, resulting in a grand total of $1.0315 billion. These figures have been duly verified by the media analytics firm Comscore.
The acclaimed Barbie film, both written and directed by the Oscar-nominated Greta Gerwig, has also etched history by marking her as the first female filmmaker to independently cross the billion-dollar milestone as a solo director.
During its third weekend on the big screen, Barbie continued its triumphant run, raking in an additional $127 million (£99.7 million) on a global scale. The film’s allure has been amplified by a viral social media trend that even captured the attention of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He shared a snapshot on his Twitter profile, showing himself enjoying the movie alongside his family.
Fronted by the dynamic duo of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, portraying the roles of Barbie and Ken, the film ingeniously thrusts Mattel Inc’s legendary doll into a captivating journey within the realm of reality.
Barbie is on the brink of potentially securing the title of the year’s highest-grossing film thus far. Presently, its ticket sales have secured it the second spot, trailing behind The Super Mario Bros. This latter film, released in April, has amassed a staggering total of $1.357 billion (£1.07 billion) in box office revenue.
Throughout contemporary box office records, a mere 53 films have surpassed the $1 billion mark, without adjusting for inflation. Notably, Barbie has emerged as the most substantial cinematic achievement to be helmed by a female director, surpassing the previous record set by Wonder Woman, which amassed a global sum of $821.8 million (£645 million).
Barbie may have claimed the title of the largest film directed by a woman, but it still trails behind three co-directed movies in terms of earnings: Frozen ($1.3 billion) and Frozen 2 ($1.45 billion), both co-helmed by Jennifer Lee, and Captain Marvel ($1.1 billion), co-directed by Anna Boden.
Nonetheless, Barbie has outpaced Captain Marvel domestically, amassing $459.4 million (£360.7 million) in North America, compared to Captain Marvel’s $426.8 million (£335 million), thereby clinching the record for the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman in the region.
Barbie has achieved the remarkable feat of surpassing the $400 million mark in the United States and crossing the $500 million milestone internationally faster than any other film under the studio’s banner, even outpacing the Harry Potter series.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ President of Domestic Distribution, Jeff Goldstein, and President of International Distribution, Andrew Cripps, expressed their astonishment in a joint statement, noting that while they’re seasoned distribution experts, Barbie’s performance has exceeded their most optimistic projections.
The film has taken on a life of its own on the internet, becoming the subject of the “Barbenheimer” meme, a humorous creation by fans to highlight its simultaneous release with Oppenheimer, an epic biographical thriller. Notably, Oppenheimer has also hit the $500 million mark (£392 million) globally in just three weeks.